lidar

American  

[lahy-dahr] / ˈlaɪ dɑr /

Or LIDAR

noun

Electronics, Optics.

1. a device similar to radar in principle and operation but using infrared laser light instead of radio waves and capable of detecting particles, distant objects, and varying physical conditions in the atmosphere.

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lidar Scientific  

/ lī′där /

1. A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of pulsed laser light reflected from their surfaces. Lidar operates on the same principles as radar and sonar.

2. The equipment used in such detection.

3. See also Doppler effect radar sonar

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Etymology

Origin of lidar

1960–65; li(ght ¹ ) + (ra)dar

Example Sentences

It includes 11 cameras, five radars and one lidar, a laser-based radar.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

Ouster’s results follow strong recent numbers External link from lidar peer Aeva Technologies.

From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026

The Waymo vehicle uses four sensor systems to gather data from the world around it: lidar, vision, radar and microphone.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026

Most driving data is repetitious and useless, and exception data without lidar isn’t useful either.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 20, 2026

There are many other important active sensor classes, three of which are active acoustics, lidar and magnetic anomaly detectors.

From Shock and Awe — Achieving Rapid Dominance by Wade, James P.